K-Shopping Online – Gmarket

Finally my toiletries arrived !

Now they are all stacked up in boxes on top of my front load washing machine!

1 year supply of toiletries. Buying in bulk is cheaper and easier for us to manage our yearly expenses on household cleaning agents and toiletries etc. So we wont be going for such buying spree every month and all the small small things add up tog can cost alot leh. So i usually stock up every June and Dec since June and Dec are usually the SALES period and have discounts.

This time it came in a huge box !

This time i shipped it by CJ logistics since there is discount. But they screwed up my first delivery…it was delivered to wrong unit ! Somemore left it outside gate.

Also funny leh. Usually Ems or Singpost will call me to cfm if i am ok to leave it outside my unit or shoe rack. But CJ one never call or text me. I just came home and got 1 huge box. Somemore my level have a common garden so many pple have to walk past my unit. What if it got stolen. *face palm* .

Saw very good reviews and raves on the Baobab treatment so i want to get it. It was on 1+1 sale ! About 1.2L. Damn huge. I think can last me damn long. I may give away the white one. Cos i think too much liao.

My favourite Happy Bath 축축 Natural Body Wash. Moisturising and smells good! Got freebies also leh. A body sponge and travelling facial care set. It was on sale. 8 bottles of body wash for ₩30,000 before using discount coupon.

Love this lotion ! Tried the sample before and indeed it is moisturising! Esp if u apply right after shower. No milky smell. But it smells like this particular wet tissue brand which i cannot remember. I cant remember how much is it in total but per bottle is about $9-$10 after shipping fees. Each bottle is about 1L to 1.2L .

I think i got blog about the discount coupons here few posts back or dayre. Cannot remember where lol.

All bought direct from the brands.

Korean restaurant 맛집 – Myung Ga

Hubs finally brought me to the place he frequent often with his Korean baseball mates after baseball practices every Sunday.

We have not been to Korean restaurants since we lived together cos i cook most of the time. This was one of the rare times we decided to eat out because i still dont know how to cook dishes like Jjampong yet.

This place called Myung Ga serves delicious home cooked taste Korean food. I love their kimchi !

They are more well-known for the Gimbab , Naengmyeon (cold noodles), Tonkatsu and Jjampong. So we ordered these dishes.

So yummmy. Price also affordable and portion is really generous.

Side dishes are refillable for free except the egg rolls. You only get served once.

I love the Gimbabs! It was served hot and so yumms. Reminded me of the famous one i had in Gyeongju – 교리김밥 Gyori Gimbab which was very popular and the queue wad superrrr long. I miss the food in Korea suddenly!

Hubs ordered Tonkatsu and he wants to show how generous is the portion so he put his giantic palm on top lol .

I ordered Naengmyeon (cold noodles). Omg it is so yums okay! I have craving for it since that day! The noodles are so chewy and broth is very shiok.

We jio-ed my gf along since she was alone at home. So she ordered Jjampong. Portion is really generous. This portion can share 2 pax.

Everytime we go to Bukit Timah, we have to stop by our favourite butchery – K&J butchery. We go there often to buy meat for our home korean bbq. Owner of this shop is Korean.

I have craving for this since the last time i had it in Korea and in Sg during cny. So…hubs decided to be nice and buy me marbled beef 갈비살 Galbisal !

We bought 600g which is just nice for 3 pax actually but Mr Shin is a big eater so both of us eat 600g. It cost about $45. Cheaper and portion is more than what you have in restaurants. So our bbq pan is a good investment !

We got 2 bbq pans. The big from Korea which we handcarried back and the small one can be used for steamboat or grill bbq by changing the pot and pan.

You need to volume up to hear sizzling sound of the beef.

We bought kimchi from there too because it was homemade by ladyboss and some onions and lettuce. Hubs was quite happy because we spent $50 for quality meat, lettuce and kimchi ! Hahaha eat until very full !

Mix salt + pepper and dip the cooked beef in. It is so shiok!

K&J is moving to somewhere near Tanglin. I think they are moving mid or end June. Ao if you are going, do call to check first.

Weekend with #sgahjussi

Weekend was well-spent with hubby. I am always cooking and having dinner with hubby at home. At times i felt guilty that i never bring him go somewhere nice for a meal especially when i have appointments with clients at a nice cafe over coffee.

On Sat , we had our appt at NUH so i brought him to A POKE THEORY. This is the first time he had a POKE bowl. Definitely his style. Healthy and delicious (to him) but the taste was so so for me. There was one i went at Esplande which i think is better . I cannot remember exactly the name of the place but it also serves poke bowls.

 

I have craving for beef bbq but hubs have craving for pork belly. Our plan was to popby our favourite butchery at Goh & Goh building (K&J Butchery) where we buy our pork bellies and marbled beefs for Korean bbq but because we spent $$ on our medications and checkups at NUH last week so we decided to eat cheap. We ended up buying the pork bellies from NTUC together with potatoes and onions. BBQ potatoes are so good. You need to slice it really thinly so that it can be cooked fast and will not get charred.

 

And on Tuesday (Public holiday) , we went to Geylang to have Hokkien Mee to satisfy hubs Hokkien Mee cravings !

This hokkien mee stall seems to be very popular because the queue is very long and there is always a long queue. Prepare to wait up to 30 mins to get your plate.

Price range from $6/$8/$12/$15/$20/$30. The $6 is damn small ! So i ordered the $8 which is just nice for me but not enough for hubs 😦 .

Apparently this hawker centre have alot of yummy food stalls !

The satay was very nice. Meat was very tender but the otah so so only and i find it not nice. Very funny..i ordered 10 at first and said i want to add another 6. The lady boss don’t allow me to add on. She say if you want to add on , you need to order 10 more cos it is considered new order. But very funny leh ..they have not cooked my earlier order for 10 pieces yet and it was just 2 mins difference. I recommend the pork one !

Our stomache too full liao !! I want to eat the carrot cake and Or luak but no space ! Shall leave it for next time.

 

Self Reflections

 

Kopi and policy reviews with a single mother. Apparently she has not gotten any updates from her ex-agent and so many riders and protections had lapsed and declined over few years. So we met and doing a major clean up for her portfolio this weekend. She shared with me her life as a single mother and her arranged marriage. My work has thought me alot about empathy and to appreciate what i have and also to help others if i can. So i offered her my listening ear. I hope she felt better after that.

“Self Reflection”

The journey from Bukit Merah to Redhill to Lavender to the bus ride home to Boon Keng made me reflect on myself. Nothing serious but a little reflection on myself not to nag at my husband too much ! I worry about my husband too much sometimes. Just like when im in Korea, my hubs worry about me alot..he scared i got cheated lah..got harassed or disturbed by drunkards at night lah or lost my way etc because after all im a foreigner in Korea and i go out on my own when he meets his friends or go for baseball games. So of cos i will worry about him lah. Im a “worrier”..don’t think got such word but my ex-boss called me that because im always worried about work even when im travelling or on holiday and about anything. So she gave me this tiny nickname. Sometimes i also worry if my clients understand what i explained not. So i can be abit lor sor sometimes. I will inform them in advance lol that please stop me if im too lor sor.

While im like not pleased with my hubs not helping me with simple things like laundry or cooking at times, there are others with more problems like abusive partners and infidelity etc.

After i got home from the appointment with client, i went back and asked hubs to call his mum. My MIL is a single mum. Before my hubs dated me, he told me his future wife must be able to love and take care of his mother like her own and have a good 婆媳 relationship. Will share more next time. She really been through alot. When i met my client who is a single mother, i can understand abit of her feelings. If you are a single mum, stay positive and jiayou okay !

Korean Food Recipe – Spicy Pork Belly Bbq ! 양념돼지고기 #sgahjumma

Ehh i realized some people have problems finding certain posts on my blog. So i decided to break down into different titles from now onwards. I have like hundreds of old posts so it is impossible to edit all since i jumbled up my food recipes, shopping, skincare and smartlady posts together.

Remember i was blogging about Yang Nyeom Pork Belly (spicy pork belly) ? Hehe i finally made it like a month ago. I haven’t made this for quite some time so finally i had the chance to and decided to share the recipe.

It is really very easy to cook.

You can buy freshly sliced thick pork belly from fairprice finest or cold storage.

How to make the sauce ?

1 tbs of minced garlic

2 tbs of Korean chilli paste

2 tbs of Korean chilli powder

2 tbs of Korean soya sauce

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

1 teaspoon of corn syrup

1 teaspoon of vinegar

2 teaspoon of sugar

Mix them all together in a bowl.

Marinate the pork belly with the sauce and keep in the fridge to let it set for about half a day. And you are ready to bbq it ! It is sooo yummy! Wrap with lettuce and kimchi …wah damn shiok !

My hubs loves it. I call this sauce the multi purpose sauce haha. Cos can use it to marinate with pork belly shabu shabu or the thick pork belly for bbq. Or you can replace with beef. But it taste better with pork lah!

Hehe #sgahjumma is here to teach you good tips and now you can have yummy Korean food at home.

Hubs and i never really go out for Korean food already cos i cook at home often esp during weekends. My hubs is quite a traditional Korean man. He likes to come home with food on the table. Not really a must to cook but he prefers it. Also good for him..else he have stomache upset everytime he have food outside especially when he drink. His digestive system is not very good. He just had colonscopy done last year in KR and took out a lump lor. So i try to cook often for him. I don’t put alot of salt and i don’t use msg. I use all the sauce recipes passed on to me by my own mother and mother-in-law. So i make all the marinates myself.

Some people asked me where did i find the time to do marketing and grocery shopping ? Well i don’t do it everyday lah. I have to work leh!

I fix my client appointments one week in advance. So i know my schedules for next week and when can i cook at home. Then i will plan my grocery marketing on every sunday mornings.

Then how come i have time to cook leh ???

I not full time housewife leh. I have to work and go for client appointments. Sometimes after night appointments i come back KO immediately.

If i know tomorrow evening i do not have appointment, i will marinate the meats (if any) the night before and keep in the fridge. When i come home next day evening, i just need to oil the pan and throw the thing in. Some days i will steam fish..so i just prep the ginger and ingredients and put the fish on a plate wrapped with cling wrap. Next evening just take out and steam.

So basically i prep my stuff the night before for tomorrow’s dinner.

How i plan my grocery shopping ?

I don’t shop at supermarkets unless bo bian i dont have time to go to wet market. I prefer to buy from wet markets cos i can buy ala carte. Lol cos i have to work and i don’t cook everyday, i do not need a big bag of green chillis or garlics/gingers etc. Plus it is cheaper at wetmarkets. I keep my expenses or should i call it “cost” per meal at $10. Unless it includes pork belly or bbq, i will up to $15.

Eh can one. Keep your daily expenses to $20 per day. Let me share in my next #smartlady posts. Now i can access wordpress via app, haha i can update when im on the move to appointments. I don’t drive…i take public transport hehe.

My hubs sometimes will accompany me to do my grocery shopping so he can help me to carry. He just let me do all the buying and choosing. His job is to safe guard my trolley haha.

I am really an ahjumma liao. We work our finances in traditional Korean way. Which is the husband will give all his salary to his wife and the wife will manage all the groceries, housing expenses, kids expenses etc and even investments. To some non-Koreans, they view it as “no pride” and no face 没面子 if i have to give my wife all my money and receive pocket money. But to a Korean, it is his responsibility to provide for his family and to work and bring money back. The wife takes care of whatever is in the house. The guy usually pays for the house and wedding and the lady will pay for furnitures. This is the traditional way.

I have some Korean clients and yes most of the time i have to go through the wives to get things done up like insurances and saving plans. But these days, things change and some couples do not follow this traditional way. But my hubs quite traditional. I think i talked and blogged about it before lol. But still almost every month i get asked this questions.

Though im not Korean and working, my hubs still give me all his salary. He don’t put into my account. But i have access to his accounts. Some of my Singaporean friends ask me how do i make my husband trusts me with his money ? Hmmm i think because i do not anyhow spend money and i also plan the finances and investments very carefully ? That is what my hubs told me. I review with him our finances and portfolio every month lol. I do investments but also make sure we have liquidity. Our insurances also i settle swee swee liao. My hubs say if im a spendthrift, he wouldn’t give me and will prefer to keep finances separate.

Haha i think i talked about this before. But recently got people ask me again. Im being asked this questions many times.

I just cleared some of emails from spam. I didn’t know so many got in there until i clicked spam box. Just moved some to inbox and will reply this weekend !

My 32nd Birthday!

Celebrated my 32nd birthday with neighbours. Thank you for organising this party. Ha..i kinda ruined my own bday surprise.

I made an evening appt with a client that day because i thought we are just having a simple potluck or cookout. And perhaps i can leave abit early. One of the girls later revealed that they planned this surprise for me and i am the main lead haha so i must stay. Coincidentally my client texted me the next day to reschedule because she has a family dinner! Lol.

We had laksa and popiah from Qiji and Pizzas. I suggest to eat the laksa and popiah at Qiji better. The delivery one is abit off standard. Very dry and laksa soup not much taste and we have to put alot chilli.

But i was really touched by my neighbours’ effort. And they also ordered the cake from an organisation which is doing fundraising for needy kids. Cannot remember the exact charity organisation but the cake was damn good. Can do good deeds and eat yummy cake at the same time!

Wah updating via wordpress app is sooo convenient leh. Works like dayre. Im damn suaku lah. Now then i know. I do not need to go home and on laptop and do all the pictures transfer somemore. Cos everytime when i reached home after work, switch on the laptop, showered and i want to KO already. So i will switch off my laptop.

I enjoy blogging because i can share good deals. And also i can throw my thoughts out here. And it feels comforted to know people who are in the same situation as me and feels like someone understands you.

I don’t really throw all my thoughts to my husband. Because he is stress or tired enough after work. Only very serious things then i will talk to him.

Even if i share with him about skincare, latest gmarket discount codes etc he also don’t really bother lah. Haha he knows i like to add things into cart to feel good nia and never buy in the end. Which is true lah. The feeling of adding things into cart feels shiok mah but don’t feel shiok when you look at the total amount and have to pay. Lol.

But Asos having 20% off leh. Very tempted but just 忍.

North Korea and South Korea had a summit few weeks ago at the DMZ. Many people asked me about me and my hubs houghts and some asked if my Hubs is excited that Kim Jong Un is coming to Singapore where Kim Jong Un and Trump will meet face to face in a high profile meeting on 12th June 2018.

My hubs replied that he is South Korean …not North Korean lol. Kim Jong Un is not his president. But he hopes that North and South reunification will happen.

Share shall more thoughts after having nuggets for supper.

WordPress and Dayre

Back from 3D2N in Shanghai. Wah so suaku i didn’t know i can access to wordpress via app. I moved abit of my thoughts to dayre but still on wordpress. Alittle more active there but here is the place where i can throw out all my thoughts in chunks if paragraphs lol. Dayre word limit per post is abit annoying leh. Be back here soon this week..after my client appointments.

South Korea Trip

Im back !

Was caught up with clearing my work and claims before my trip.
2 weeks in the Land of Kimchi and also a traditional hanok countryside stay in Gyeongju ( ancient capital of Korea during the Shilla dynasty ) .

Had a good rest and time spent with my Korean family. Learnt cooking from Mil and beauty tips from sis in law. This trip was abit more emotional. Shall talk about it later.

 

Got to clear up some work and unpacking and settle the laundry before i come back to space again this weekend ! Too many pics are on my hp but it just cannot link up to macbook.

This is part of the unpacking. Ps : Those in plastic bags are NOT mine lol. Mine are all in the pink netted pouch  only. The plastic bag is not the normal size duty free plastic bag. It is a huge sized carrier with 20kg (including the pink netted pouch ) of beauty and skincare products that i transferred from my checked-in luggage because i need to keep my luggage in the under-bed storage. Have to sort them out in paper bags to pass the stuff to clients and friends. They asked me to help them buy and now i have to sort out the stack of receipts.

 

Be back to this space soon after i cleared my belongings and sort these out.

Just realized my #smartlady post is still in private mode. LOL I forgot to publish it before i left for KR !

Have a good mid week 🙂

#SGAHJUMMA

Everytime whenever i MIA-ed for a while on my blog , friends will ask me anything happened or busy making babies ah ?
LOL.

Nah…. we are “out” this cycle so have to try again lor.

Next cycle , i will try to take it easy…to be honest , people who are trying to conceive or had conceived will know the most stressful and fustrating part is not waiting for ovulation…but the 2 weeks after ovulation date. Because before ovulation , you are doing something in hope of a positive outcome…but after ovulation date, there is a 2 weeks wait (Luteal phase) which is the 2 weeks before your period come. During these 2 weeks , you can only wait and do nothing. Doing nothing and hoping your period don’t come and you still start doing crazy symptoms spotting. To be honest , i thought we could have made it this month because i had no PMS symptoms. I always have breast soreness , pre-menses cramps and migrane 10 days before my period and it will end when period starts. But this time , there was nothing…then who knows the day after i came back from Bintan on 7th July …period come liao.

FEELING SIAN

Both of us were disappointed. Super disappointed.

I was feeling very stressed and i broke down for a mere 5 minutes. Feeling cranky then suddenly menses came. This time , i tried not to be too stress about everything around me..my work ..people…housework etc. Some friends asked if i had medical checks done. Well , everything checked. All fine and healthy. No abnormalities. Gynae says ovaries, uterus , eggs and everything looks healthy and nice. I think i am abit kiasu..cos i did checks even before we started trying. we are only in our 3rd or 4th cycle try. Usually people only go for checks after 1 year. But because of our age (im 31 and he is 33) , i decided to go for medical check first.

After i blogged about the previous post (chemical pregnancy), i received many emails and instagram messages from readers who also experienced the same thing , experiencing the same thing or also at the same stage as me ( trying to conceive ). It is comforting to know that i am not facing these challenges alone and for people who are going through the same thing to give me encouragements and sugggestions. So i want to say THANK YOU for all your kindness and encouragements. It is very sweet of all of you. And i am also blessed to have understanding clients who gave me encouragements and positivity not only at about trying to conceive but also towards my work. Because i do alot of family planning (husband and wives + their kids + their extended family ), the women are all married. So some are going through the same thing or have went through before. It is nice to have people to talk to over a coffee and they are able to relate to your situation.

BTW, i just unlocked my instag to public lol. I privated the instag for 2 years already and don’t really accept new followers. I am slightly more active there now.

****

 

#K-beauty 

Not sure if you all heard of the Korean skincare method called 7-SKIN.

I bet you have heard about triple cleansing (Make up remover -> Oil cleanser -> Foam cleanser ). This 3 steps already took up about 5-10 mins of my bath time. So now…is 7-Skin.

I received alot of enquiries on that for the past few months but i kept forgetting to blog about this lol. I heard of it last year in October when i was in Korea for my wedding. The Korean makeup artist told me about it. So i started trying it since then.

So what is 7-Skin ? 

“Skin” is Korea’s name for toners.

7-skin means layering 7 layers of toners before you continue with the other steps. By layering with 7 layers of toners , it is supposed to boost and optimized the hydration level in your skin. Your skin will “drink up” and “absorb” the toners more effectively. It will give you a glowy and hydrated skin look.

So how do you do it ?
Well , after cleansing your face , you apply the first layer of toner. Then wait for 3-5 minutes for it to be absorbed before you apply another layer and you repeat this 7 times !

Then after which , you can continue with your usual routine of applying essence , serums , emulsions and moisturizer.

To be honest , having 7 toners is very expensive and applying 7 layers is really time consuming. It took me about almost an hour to finish the whole skincare routine from toner to moisturizer when i tried this 7-skin method.

So i reduced to 3-Skin instead. I find 3 Skin still acceptable and less time consuming. The effect also there.
So what products did i apply ?

Because i am applying 3 layers , i chose and start with the more “watery” texture toners first.
I bought this Hatomugi Skin Conditioner from Taipei. The texture is quite watery and not very thick. It absorbs very easily so i used it as the first layer. This toner is supposed to help with hydration.

2nd layer is the Rene-cell peptide toner . It supposed to help with firming of skin. This texture is watery and easily absorbed.

I reviewed this HERE before.

 

3rd layer is slightly less “watery” in texture compared to the first 2 layers. The Aquabolic toner from HERA.
Long time readers of mine knows that i am a BIG BIG FAN of HERA. Their products never failed me.

Their BB Cushion also the BEST !

 

Yup , so this is my 3 SKIN method. I reduced from 7 to 3 because 7 is toooo time consuming and i don’t see myself buying 7 toners. I rather use good toners. Some people asked if you can repeat the toners ? As in just 1 toner but apply 7 times ? This also can work and it is just whether you have the patience or not.

So very easy , just start with the most light weighted toner first and the more heavy one last.

I do this 3-skin step everyday ! Perhaps you can try it too.

 

 

I noticed my skin looks more translucent and radiant lately. I actually changed my entire skincare products because the previous sets finished already and so i got new ones in October. Got new toners (Mamonde) , serums (Nature Republic and CNP) , ampoules ( CNP ) , emulsions (Mamonde) , moisturisers (Nature Republic and Real Barrier) and essences (Hanskin).

Here are some of the few i just got recently and started using. The rest are still nicely kept in my stock up corner lol,

Hanskin Hyaluron Skin Essence.

Price : KRW 30,000 (but i got it at 50%off for KRW 15,000 during Watsons storewide sales).

Texture : Feels abit like liquid serum. Not very watery and easy to glide and absorbed into the skin.

This feels really good and easy to apply. I really like this because of the texture and how easy it is to glide onto the skin.  It is very moisturising and smells good too. After applying it and absorption , i can see that my skin looks more hydrated and radiant.

It is very hard to find Hanskin stuff. I got this at Watsons though.

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Nature Republic Shea Butter Steam Cream 

Price : KRW 30,000 (  But i bought it during Korea Sale Fiesta at 50% off KRW 15,000 )

Texture : Feels like the soya bean pudding ( ya , i know right , what a description ! ). This is actually a popular product because of the moisturizing effect. It comes in 3 different types : Fresh , Moist and Ultra. I got the Moist one.

It promises 48hrs of hydration.  I use this as a night cream/sleeping pack because it is very moisturising. Will be too moisturising to be used a moisturiser. It really hydrates my skin overnight when i sleep in air conditioned room. I really love this. It also hydrates my skin when i was in Korea during autumn.

I think this bottom can be used very long. Because of our humid weather , i do not need to apply that much.

I bought this as wedding favours for my Korean wedding too.

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After 2 weeks of use , still got so much left. If you are looking for something hydrating and affordable , this is one product you should get.

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CNP Invisible Peeling Cleansing Gel.

Price : KRW 18,000 ( Got it at a discount during Korea Sale Fiesta too ! )

Texture : Watery Gel like and easy to foam up. I like the smell of the foam. Smells like those aesthetic clinic used cleansers. It is not very drying also. It promises to remove dead skin cells also. My skin looks brighter and clearer these days. So not sure if this is the product or the one below and all above that is contributing to it.

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Nature Republic Ginseng Royal Silk Watery Cream

Price : KRW 66,000

Somehow i feel that this maybe the one ? I use this as night cream because it is quite oily and rich despite being a “watery cream”. It is very hydrating and i like the smell. Feels very luxurious also. But ..the bottle is very big and chunky. Super mafan to open the cap. I apply abit only because it is abit oily. I would recommend this as a day moisturiser. Because

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Transparent gel like “watery cream” with gold flakes.

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I apply this on alternate days and find improvement in my skin tone.

I bought the serum too. Review later !

Nature Republic Aloe Vera Cooling Eye Serum 

Price : KRW 10,900

Not much of a cooling effect as it stated but quite moisturising.

Texture : Abit sticky.

Ehh.. this one not really a MUST BUY product. Unless you are looking for eye gel at the moment , this can be one of your choices.

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I use that to gently massage my eyebags . I usually keep all the emptied tubes and just use the rollers to massage my eyebags.

That’s all for today ! Lots more to review after i opened and used them for a week !